1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a method of making a side step for a vehicle, more particularly, to a method of making a side step that has good mechanical properties, in which the method is capable of improving degrees of freedom in design, and reducing weight and manufacturing cost.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a side step of a vehicle is mounted at a lower portion of each left and right door of a van that has a high ground clearance so as to offer improved convenience when passengers enter or exit the vehicle by enabling the passengers to step on the side step. For example, in the case of a Recreational Vehicle (RV) or a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), the interior floor thereof is higher than that of a conventional passenger vehicle, thereby offering inconvenience to young children or the elderly when entering or exiting the vehicle. Therefore, the vehicle may be provided with a side step that is mounted at a lower side of the vehicle body so as to help passengers to enter or exit the vehicle.
A conventional side step typically is formed as a large-sized component, which is long in a longitudinal direction thereof, and manufactured by mainly using a thermoplastic resin, aluminum, and steel. In other words, components that bear a weight of passengers when getting in or getting out of a vehicle are made of aluminum through extrusion-molding, components that cover an exterior of a vehicle are made of a thermoplastic elastomer through injection-molding, and a plurality of brackets that connect a vehicle body and the side step are made of steel plate cold commercial (SPCC) through press-forming.
In vehicle development, one of the major issues is to improve gas mileage by reducing a weight of a vehicle. However, the conventional side step used as an accessory is problematic in that the conventional side step is manufactured by mainly using aluminum or steel, thereby increasing weight and lowering gas mileage. In particular, the conventional side step is problematic in that the conventional side step is low in degrees of freedom in design, and the manufacturing cost increases due to a large number of components.
The foregoing is intended merely to aid in the understanding of the background of the present invention, and is not intended to mean that the present invention falls within the purview of the related art that is already known to those skilled in the art.